5:00 AM MT—Really good sleep last night. Definitely needed a night off. This morning we head off to Silverton and then this afternoon we finally get on a train. Taking the train to Durango, where we will be spending the next two nights at the historic Strater Hotel. We may even get a tour of the hotel while we are there.
Our bags have to be ready to go for 7:00 and we leave at 8:00.
9:00 AM MT—Quick stop at the Russell Stover Candies world headquarters.
10:46 AM MT—After driving through the towns of Delta and Ouray, which was named for a local Ute indian chief, we hit State Highway 550. This part of the road is called the Million Dollar Road, a shelf road cut into the side of a mountain. It’s quite a view.
No one seems to know why it’s called the Million Dollar Road, but there are three theories: 1. It cost a million dollars to build; 2. There’s a million dollars of gold buried under the road bed; or, 3. When the road was built in the early 1900’s, it is said that after a traveller came off the road, he said, “I wouldn’t drive that road again for a million dollars.”
12:07 PM MT—Arrival in Silverton, a small town where we will catch the authentic steam power train to Durango. We have two hours for lunch and sightseeing. I grab a burger at the High Noon. It is good.
2:30 PM MT—We have regrouped on the train, and we are off for the three and half hour ride to Durango. In the meantime, our driver, Richard, is taking the bus and our luggage to the hotel. On the train we have a costumed interpreter narrating the ride and answering questions. She is really engaging and definitely knows her stuff.
6:00 PM MT—Arrival in Durango, our home base for the next couple of days. Our hotel is the historic Strater on Main Avenue. I grab dinner with Alan and Karie, a couple from Australia who is part of our group. We discuss the trip thus far and the science of tipping in restaurants.
Tomorrow we’re off to Mesa Verde with dinner at the James Ranch.
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